Pablo Marini: “We beat a big competitor”

Montevideo City Torque coach Pablo Marini spoke at a press conference after the historic 3-1 win over Peñarol that gave Ciudadanos a place in the Uruguay Cup final.

“The feeling of joy and satisfaction, we beat a big competitor, who has a very good team, participates in international competitions and is unbeaten in the local championship. For us today it was a very good thing, we were champions and superior against a very good team. Peñarol has 22 starting players in any team. Team, we are talking about great footballers, but we played very well, adapted to the rhythm of the competition and followed the line of everything we were doing,” he stressed.

The Argentine coach of Ciudadanos also pointed out the team's best points, highlighting several key elements that Montevideo City Torque produced against Peñarol in Centenario.

He said: “Many players shone today, from the goalkeeper to the strikers. Villalba, Lucas Rodriguez and the midfielders played at a high level today, and with this high level we were able to overcome the opponent.”

When asked about the keys to victory, Marini highlighted the way his team were able to overcome Peñarol's pressure and the way they struggled with quick transitions.

“At one point, Peñarol pressed too high and imposed a higher pace of the game than we did. We were able to break the line of pressure and with long balls we tried to find very fast attacking players. We knew that. Peñarol was going to leave space behind us because he was coming and he was going to take us at some point.” “We felt slow and tired, but I think we had enough character to play a very difficult match, and we were deserved winners.”

Finally, Montevideo City coach Torque pointed to Defensor Sporting, the team he will face in the Uruguay Cup final.

He said: “We did not see much from Defensor. We watched the matches with River. They are a very fast team, very agile. A team that, despite its youth, has high-level players and a very high speed of play.” .